Forgotten Crime
by dangerousdame
Summary: A collection of suspense stories based on the original campaign.
1. The Last Day of the Stirge

_Disclaimer: If I owned Neverwinter Nights, I wouldn't have gotten killed so many times while playing it. Also, the song the bards sang would have been Brave Sir Robin._

The Stirge leaned against a tree, picked at his nails, and wondered when they would find him. It couldn't be much longer now before the bounty hunters got wind of his whereabouts- those comrades of his would sell him out in less time then it would take to wipe away a spec of dirt.

He had been waiting for his pursuers for some time now, and so he was almost relieved when he heard the sound of twigs snapping and saw two shadowy figures coming towards him. He sized them up. The female, obviously the leader, was a fellow bard- a human most likely. Her showgirl's costume was spattered with blood, and her otherwise attractive face bore a battle scar. The male was a hideous half-orc, bearing a battleaxe twice the Stirge's size.

_There's no way I could ever defeat those two. Better try to bargain._

"Greetings, fair maiden!", he said as he bowed to the bloodied bard. "I'm Stirge, the baby killer!"

The two adventurers stopped in their tracks. The male bore a look of revolted disbelief, but the girl seemed almost amused.

"Not making much attempt at staying undercover, are you?"

"Ah well, how could I possibly hope to hide from someone as clever as yourself?"

She laughed at that, but her eyes didn't move from him.

"So, let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Every crook I've captured has some sob story to tell me- some tragic tale of being misunderstood that led them to their life of crime. I'm interested in what excuse you could possibly have for strangling newborns in their sleep."

"Judging from the brief time in which I've known you, I gather the sob stories, as you call them, were of no avail."

She smiled. It was slight, and there was something strangely sinister about it.

"Oh, but you're wrong. I took pity on the monster, and the elf was far too lovely to kill. I'm still waiting. What's your excuse?"

"I have none. I did what I did for my own pleasure."

The half-orc began to lunge forward, but the female pulled him back.

"Daelen, wait."

The Sirge took her hand and whispered softly:

"No one would have to know I'm alive."

Her laugh came again, but colder this time.

"Do you mean to tell me that you would cut off your own ear? That would be highly amusing to watch."

He took out his dagger and drew it up to the side of his head. At a nod from the bard, he sliced it across. The pain was unimaginable, and he felt more then a bit sick as he handed her part of himself.

"Goodbye, love."

As he turned, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ribs. As he slid to the ground, he realized the tart had slid in a dagger.

The last words he ever heard were "Bloody baby killer!"


	2. Black and White

_Note: These stories are not in chronological order. Also, part of the idea for this story was stolen from the movie Angels With Dirty Faces._

"You've got a visitor."

Fenthick looked up from his cell at the guard who had delivered this information. The guard usually didn't talk to him, out of sense of either guilt or disgust.

"Who is it?"

"Krisha Dian."

Fenthick sat up, surprised. He had never been very close with the hero of Neverwinter, and he wouldn't have thought she was the type to visit condemned prisoners.

"You can let her in."

As the bard entered the dungeon, she paused before going over to his cell. Fenthick stood up, and politely greeted her.

"So, the student is now a legendary hero!"

She shrugged.

"I don't feel much like a hero. Did Aribeth come to see you?"

"She came. I couldn't face her, though."

Krisha leaned casually against the wall, looking straight into Fenthick's eyes.

"You never liked me, did you?"

"Krisha, you know that isn't true."

"No, I never could get your respect. I was too ruthless for you, too "chaotic" as you once put it. You probably wished I had been evil, so that you wouldn't have had to deal with me."

"That's not true. I may have disagreed with you on some things, but I never disliked you."

She sighed, and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"Anyway, whatever you thought of me, there's something we need to discuss."

"What?"

"Aribeth. You still love her don't you?"

Fenthick lowered his eyes- although it was the truth, he couldn't look into the girl's e yes.

"More than life itself."

"You don't have to be ashamed. It's natural- why, even one of my henchmen has a crush on her! But I have to be frank here- she's not in a very good state."

"Is she ill?"

"You know that's not what I mean. No offense, but her type sees things in terms of black and white, exalted good or vile darkness, without any middle ground. Your conviction has thrown her a curve. She can't reconcile this with the "justice" of Neverwinter. She's going to crack."

Fenthick felt ill- far worse then when his sentence had been pronounced. He knew the bard was right.

"But what can I do?"

"You can restore her confidence in Neverwinter."

"How?"

"By going to your death as a traitor. As you climb the statue, you can laugh at the fools who had believed you innocent, and say that you have been proud to work against Neverwinnter. She'll hate you, and her universe will make sense."

"But- but Aribeth is all I have left!"

"For how much longer?"

"You cannot ask me to do this."

"Look, it's not an order, not even a request, it's just a suggestion. You know her best, and if you don't think she needs you to do this, I'll respect your decision."

She turned to walk out of the dungeon, but as she reached the door, Fenthick called after her.

"You know I'm innocent, don't you?"

"Know? I don't even 'know' if _I'm_ innocent."

She paused, her voice almost breaking.

"But I fought for you until Nasher was ready to have me hanged, too."

She left, and the door slammed shut.

_Aribeth doesn't need to hate me_, he told himself. _She'll be strong._


	3. Femme Fatale

_Author's note: Thank you to the two people who have actually reviewed._

If Tommi Undergallows had known the hell he was about to get himself into, it is quite possible that he would have chosen to make his move on Linu rather then Aribeth. It was the sort of simple, basic mistake he had heard of in ballads- falling for the beautiful, troubled girl rather then the one who would actually be good for you. But Tommi hadn't thought about any of this when he went over to comfort Aribeth in the Port Llast drinking house.

"Hullo there, my lady. Care to have a drink?"

The Paladin, who had been staring at the bottom of her cup, looked up at him.

"Shouldn't you be with your employer?"

"The Human girl? Krisha's already gone off to bed- Master Gend's bed, no doubt."

For a moment, Tommi wondered if he had said the wrong thing. Aribeth put her hand up to her eye as if brushing away a tear at the thought of love. Stupid me, he thought to himself, I always talk too much.

"He'll betray her", the Lady whispered.

"Pardon?"

"Or else he'll do what he thinks is right and be hanged for it. You can count on a man to do that."

Tommi took the opportunity to sit down next to her and take her hand sympathetically.

"Well," he said, "That's one good thing about me- I never do anything just because I think it's right. And when I betray a girl, she knows it's nothing personal, just my nature."

Aribeth smiled a bit at this, and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Tommi, you make the most transparent seduction attempts that I have ever seen."

"It don't pay to be subtle, that's what I say."

She sighed.

"But perhaps your way is best. Look out for yourself, don't think about others. All my life, I have worked for the public good, and for what reward? My lover's corpse, hanging from a tree?"

She swallowed what was left of her drink and met Tommi's eyes, almost challenging him.

"But you don't serve any community. For money, you could betray a city, break down the walls of the place you once called home, see your entire world collapse and simply laugh. Couldn't you?"

Tommi wasn't sure he liked the direction the conversation was taking. She still wasn't over that pretty boy, and now she was raving about philosophy. Maybe he should go see what Sharwyn was doing.

It was at that moment that Aribeth pulled him toward her and kissed him with enough force to knock out a weaker Halfling. When she pulled away she was crying, but Tommi silently congratulated himself.

"Tommi?"

"Call me Grin."

"Alright, then. Grin, I've always known why you stayed at the Hall of Justice rather then the Trade of Blades when you were looking for work. I used to feel flattered, but I would now like to ask a favor of you."

She smiled through her tears and stroked his cheek.

"I'm going away. I have to do some work in Luskan. Would you come with me? I've been so lonely since Fenthick was killed, and I'm about to isolate myself even more- I can't explain- I would appreciate your companionship."

"My Lady!"

Tommi felt himself luckier then he had been in a long time. He was wrong.


	4. Moonwood After Midnight

_Note: This chapter might not be as good as some of the others, but I wanted to do something with an idea I had._

"Can't you just turn them into flaming piles of dust?" Krisha asked as the vampires surrounded her and Linu.

"I tried! They're too powerful!" Linu screamed.

The vampires were taking their sweet time as they advanced towards the girls. The female ones looked at them with hunger in their eyes, as they bared their canine teeth and hissed vague threats. The male vampires also looked hungry, but it was a different sort of hunger, and they smirked as circled around the mortals. Both the bard and the cleric gripped their weapons a little tighter.

Suddenly the female who looked like the leader lashed out and grabbed Linu by the hair. The vampiress was unnaturally strong, and the Elf was rather light, so she was able to drag her close almost instantaneously. Two males held Krisha back as the vampire and her prey vanished and Linu's screams faded to nothing.

"She will be returned...in time." The vampire male who said this stroked Krisha's neck and whispered into her ear.

"Would you like to know what it feels like to have your will seized and your blood mingled with that of another?"

"Well, I obviously wouldn't _like_ to, but I have a feeling that was a rhetorical question."

With this, she screamed out a War Cry at the top of her lungs. The vampires dropped her and ran off shaking, their heads surrounded by floating fiery skulls.

"I always did like that effect."

She raced to the tomb nearby and ran inside. That was the place the undead seemed to be emerging from, and it seemed the logical place for the vampire girl to have taken Linu.

More vampires were to be found inside the tomb. Not so much fighting them as running like hell, Krisha made her way to a long hallway. She stopped in front of a door, fiddled with the lock, then threw herself inside and slammed it shut before her pursuers could see which way she had gone.

"Krisha."

She spun around to find the Elven cleric huddled in a corner of the room. The female vampire's bloody corpse lay at her feet.

"Linu! Are you alright?"

"I- I think so. I don't know. When she bit me I started to feel more powerful, and then I...I don't know. It all went black."

"Don't worry, the infection must be gone now. It dies if you kill the one who infected you."

"I hope so."

The two women looked at the door. If they were to get out of the tomb, they would have to wade their way out of the mess of undeath.

"One down, six hundred to go", Krisha said as she took out her dagger.


	5. The Cloaked Avenger

_Reply to Faithless Shadow: Krisha is a Bard, which means that at high levels she can cast War Cry, which causes enemies to experience Fear. And yes, I admit it, the vampires totally kicked my ass in Moonwood. Not something I'm proud of._

Aaron Gend sat by his desk in Castle Never and tried to remain optimistic. Yes, the war was being lost, Lord Nasher was more of a hindrance then a help, his former best friend was now leading the invading army, and his current female companion was off to certain death trying to save everyone. But that was no reason to despair.

Oh, hell. _Always look on the bright side of life_, he sang to himself.

It took Aaron an unusual amount of time to realize that there was a hooded figure standing in from of his desk. When her finally acknowledged it, a voice came from beneath the cloak.

"Aaron Gend?"

"What?"

"I wish to join Krisha Dian in her search for victory."

I really don't have time for this, he thought to himself. He seized his sword made an attempt to frighten away the stranger, but the figure pulled out a blade and deflected every move. He was impressed, in spite of himself.

"Who are you?"

"No one of consequence. I wish to help, that is all."

I know that voice, he thought to himself. Someone from Port Llast, perhaps? The voice was definitely female, which ruled out most of the candidates he was considering. Unless...

"Tell me, Shaldrissa", Aaron said, "What will it take to finally cure you of your taste for adventure?"

She took off her hood and looked down at the floor.

"I tried, I really did. But when the Luskan armies attacked, and everyone else was running, I found that...I couldn't. The soldiers didn't want me, so I came here."

She now raised her eyes to meet Aaron's. She was a good deal dirtier then when he had last seen her, and although it had not been long, she looked ten years older.

"The invaders have forced me to learn how to fight, simply in self defense", she continued. "Not to boast, but I am a capable swordswoman, and if your armies think me too young, perhaps those who once knew me won't."

"I think", said Aaron Gend, "That Krisha would be more likely to take you if she _hadn't_ already known you."

"I know", she whispered, "I was a fool and a child when once she saw me. But I owe her my life, and if she is willing to take me, I would be of great assistance."

"You'll have to convince her of that. It's not my job to say who she fights with. You'll find her in the war zone, although I'd advise you not to. Even if she takes you on, you will almost surely die."

"That's a chance I'll have to take."

She turned to exit.

"By the way", Aaron asked, "Didn't that use to be Yesgar's cloak?"

"Yes, it was. A great pity, isn't it?"


	6. Animals

_A/N: I know this isn't what happened in the Neverwinter Zoo Rescue quest, but since this is fanfiction, I can alter the universe._

The Neverwinter Zoo was an imposing structure. If you listened closely, you could here animalistic screams of pain coming from the inside, followed by human laughter. Krisha turned to Grimgnaw.

"I guess I can see why the druid hated this place so much."

"Yes, this is the sort of thing our tree-hugging friend would abhor. He cannot see the beauty in these things."

The bard and her dwarven henchman had been told of the zoo by some of the villagers, but none had been inside to see it themselves. It was a pleasure only permitted to those of wealthy families, and even the head druid himself only knew of it by word of mouth. Still, if it was half as unpleasant as it looked, Krisha would have no qualms about destroying it from the inside.

Krisha and Grimgnaw stepped up to the door.

"You got any identification?" the guard demanded.

Krisha handed him a gem she had been given by an admirer.

"Come on in, then."

The door swung open, and she stepped inside. Her human height blocked Grimgnaw's view, so he couldn't see inside the door, or know why his mistress had suddenly stopped in her tracks. He touched her arm, but she didn't move.

"Mistress", he finally asked. "Is there something the matter? Something inside the zoo?"

"They guessed wrong", she whispered. "It's not a zoo."

"Not a zoo?"

She stepped aside, and as the monk came into the building, she hissed to him under her breath.

"It's a freakshow."

The first cage bore a sign reading "Wolf-Man". The creature behind it appeared to be an elf, but his body hair was frighteningly long and thick, his skin burned, and the skin around his mouth was stained with red. Grimgnaw recalled reading about the disease, Porphyria, which seemed to be afflicting the Wolf-Man. He snarled at the onlookers, and the man who seemed to be in charge struck him with a leather whip.

The next cage contained a man with a twisted skeleton, a deformed face, and withered skin- he was marked "The Living Corpse". The other cages contained a pinhead and a woman with neither arms nor legs who laws being leered at by the men on the other side of the bars.

Life produced these irregularities, Grimgnaw reasoned, but in death all were equal. He turned to share this insight with Krisha, but he realized that she had slipped through a side door.

When he caught up to the bard, he saw that she had a look on her face that he used to associate with fellow members of the Order. It was the look of a hunter.

"Krisha", he said, "You do realize that, since it turned out these were not animals, it is doubtful whether the tree-hugger will pay you for their rescue."

She pulled out her crossbow, and counted the bolts she had left.

"Grimgnaw", she said, "Do you know that I had my doubts about this quest? About whether killing humanoids in order to save animals was the right thing to do?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well," she said, baring her teeth, "I think my question has been rendered moot."

And with that she fired a bolt into the heart of a passing guard.


End file.
